The price of assimilation : Felix Mendelssohn and the nineteenth-century anti-Semitic tradition

"In The Price of Assimilation, Jeffrey Sposato offers a bold, revisionist account of composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's relationship to his Jewish roots. Sposato challenges the notion that Mendelssohn's identity was strongly informed by a sense of Jewishness, a view that came into currency in the aftermath of the Holocaust. As scholars since then have rightly noted, Mendelssohn was born Jewish and not converted to Protestantism until age seven, his grandfather was the famous Jewish reformer and philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, and his music was banned by the Nazis, who clearly viewed him as a Jew. But these facts tell only part of the story."

"Through a mix of cultural analysis, biographical study, and a close examination of original sources and drafts of Mendelssohn's sacred works, The Price of Assimilation provides dramatic new answers to the so-called "Mendelssohn Jewish question.""--Jacket.

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Offers a revisionist account of Felix Mendelssohn's relationship to his Jewish roots. Challenging the notion that Mendelssohn's identity was strongly informed by a sense of Jewishness, a view that came into currency after World War II, this book argues Mendelssohn consciously attempted to distance himself from his Jewish heritage.더 읽기…

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"A good part of the core of Sposato's work has become and will remain part of the conventional wisdom."--Donald Mintz, Music and Letters"A significant new book"--Pittsburgh Post Gazette"Well researched and well written, this remarkable book revises, deepens, and, best of all, clarifies Mendelssohn's personal and professional responses to his position as a converted Jew in the first half of the 19th century...Sposato's careful study of Mendelssohn's biography, his manuscripts, and the historical period produces a fascinating new picture of the composer.... Essential."--CHOICE"Mendelssohn has always been something of an enigma. Was his motivation as a composer primarily Jewish or Christian? In this carefully reasoned re-examination of the documentary evidence, Jeffrey S. Sposato argues that the matter is much more complex than is usually presented. Paradoxically, Mendelssohn seems to have shared the common Anti-Semitic stance of Protestant Germany and only in later life moderated this position. This is an important--if somewhat disturbing--book that carefully distinguishes the various shades of gray that have been hitherto interpreted as either black or white, helping us to understand the cultural context of the man and his music, especially the larger choral works."--Professor Robin A. Leaver, Westminster Choir College of Rider University and The Juilliard School"In his book, Sposato presents an enigmatic and multifaced personality of Mendelsohn which does not fit conveniently in either extreme religious classification. Sposato offers a substantial argument that in a utilitarian way will hopefully open a dialogue of polemics in Mendelssohn interpretation."--Choral Journal"Jeffrey Sposato's stimulating study is a major contribution to the debate about Mendelssohn's relationship with his Jewish heritage, which for more than 150 years has been characterized by obfuscation and prejudice. Through a careful and scholarly examination o더 읽기…

""Through a mix of cultural analysis, biographical study, and a close examination of original sources and drafts of Mendelssohn's sacred works, The Price of Assimilation provides dramatic new answers to the so-called "Mendelssohn Jewish question.""--Jacket."@en

""In The Price of Assimilation, Jeffrey Sposato offers a bold, revisionist account of composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's relationship to his Jewish roots. Sposato challenges the notion that Mendelssohn's identity was strongly informed by a sense of Jewishness, a view that came into currency in the aftermath of the Holocaust. As scholars since then have rightly noted, Mendelssohn was born Jewish and not converted to Protestantism until age seven, his grandfather was the famous Jewish reformer and philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, and his music was banned by the Nazis, who clearly viewed him as a Jew. But these facts tell only part of the story.""